Sunday, July 21, 2013

Sunday Prayer (Pentecost 9C, Proper 11)

Holy and gracious God,

The summer fruit is ripening, the heat is sweltering, the cornstalks are stretching high, and the pavement is causing the air to dance in heat waves.* As we wipe away the sweat and pray for mercy from the sun, we remember that you alone are God.

You alone, you alone.

Our lives are full and busy. We are running to work, dashing to meetings, gathering for holidays and for protests and for meals, scrolling in a rush through phones and tv channels and websites, adding new books to our readings lists, hurrying to go on vacation, pressing our schedules to include hobbies and rest. As we breathe in this moment, hovering on one webpage for one minute, we remember that you alone are God.

You alone, you alone.

We cannot avoid your judgment over the earth, though we have tried not to hear your voice in the outcries of those in poverty who are counting every penny to eat, those in legal limbo who are detained and left to be forgotten, those who are scolded for seeking justice from war, rape, murder. We prefer to hear your voice in church instead of on the street, but we remember that you alone are God.

You alone, you alone.

We pray for your work of reconciliation and wholeness in this world, that it come "soon and very soon."** We pray that you are able to make use of us, and that we will mature in our understanding of how to join your work without complaining, how to be unafraid in learning & listening, how to fear you and love one another. We remember that you alone are God.